Has Martin Luther King Jr.'s "dream" been realized?
TOPIC
GRADE
RATIONALE WITH STATISTICS
COMMENTS / SUGGESTIONS
Legislation and Politics Civil Rights laws, affirmative action laws, representation in state and federal government, voting statistics
B
Civil Rights laws have been passed and enforced by the government
While the number of African Americans and Hispanics in the government is not near the percentage of population, the numbers are increasing every year
We have an African American president
African Americans vote at nearly the same rate as the average population, but Hispanics are much lower (average around 60% registering, African American 58%, Hispanic 28%)
Encourage minorities to continue to become active in politics, possibly through schools
Push for voter registration drives and voter eductaion in the Hispanic community, possibly with bilingual voting ballots
Employment
Number of employed / unemployed, types of jobs, business ownership
Education Graduation rates, test scores, college enrollment, educational attainment
C
For 2004-'05, white Wisconsin students had a graduation rate of 92.6%, well ahead of the 62.9% rate for black students.
Among cities nationwide, Chicago stands out with an appallingly low high school graduation rate for black males of less than 40%.
Income and Poverty Average income, number below poverty level
Racial barriers prevent many people of color from achieving the same economic success as their white counterparts.
Behavior
In a CNN Poll:
Almost half of black respondents -- 49 percent -- said racism is a "very serious" problem, while 18 percent of whites shared that view.
Asked how many whites dislike blacks, 40 percent of black respondents said "all" or "many." Twenty-six percent of whites chose one of those replies.
About half of black respondents said they had been a victim of discrimination because of their race. A little more than a quarter of whites said they had been victims of racial discrimination.
Asked if they know someone they consider racist, 43 percent of whites and 48 percent of blacks said yes.
GRADE
Civil Rights laws, affirmative action laws, representation in state and federal government, voting statistics
B
Number of employed / unemployed, types of jobs, business ownership
Graduation rates, test scores, college enrollment, educational attainment
Among cities nationwide, Chicago stands out with an appallingly low high school graduation rate for black males of less than 40%.
Average income, number below poverty level
Almost half of black respondents -- 49 percent -- said racism is a "very serious" problem, while 18 percent of whites shared that view.
Asked how many whites dislike blacks, 40 percent of black respondents said "all" or "many." Twenty-six percent of whites chose one of those replies.
About half of black respondents said they had been a victim of discrimination because of their race. A little more than a quarter of whites said they had been victims of racial discrimination.
Asked if they know someone they consider racist, 43 percent of whites and 48 percent of blacks said yes.